1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fishing lures, and more particularly, to fishing lures that include spinning blades for reflecting light downwardly into water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fishing is a popular form of recreation, and fisherman often compete for bragging rights as to landing the biggest fish from a particular body of water. One preferred form of fishing is known as trolling in which one or more fishing lines are baited with lures or bait fish, and are slowly drawn through the water. Fisherman troll for fish either by dragging one or more lines behind a moving boat, or by slowly reeling a line in when fishing from shore. When trolling from a boat, a special trolling motor is typically used to move the boat at a relatively slow, constant speed.
Fishing lures that spin, and reflect light, as they move through the water, have been in use for many years. So-called “spoons” include an elliptical piece of metal, resembling the working end of a dinner-table spoon. One or more hooks are attached to one end of the spoon, and the fishing line is attached to the other end of the spoon. As the lure is pulled through the water, the spoons rotate and reflect light, resembling the appearance of a minnow.
“Spinners” may include a wire shaft having loops or eyes at both ends, one for attaching the spinner to a fishing line, and the other for attachment to a hook. Often, a row of colored beads or metal rings or cylinders, are threaded onto the wire shaft to sparkle and glimmer. Near the upper eye of the wire shaft, a metal spinner blade is rotatably coupled to spin as the lure is pulled through the water. The metal spinner blade may be of various shapes and styles, including a so-called “Colorado” spinner that resembles a tear-drop shape. Rotational movement of such lures through the water as the lure is pulled, resulting vibration, together with the flashing patterns of light that are reflected into the water, are the features that are believed to attract fish to bite at the lure.
It has been found that some fish that are valued by fisherman are more likely to bite at, or “hit”, a lure that advances more slowly through the water, for example, at speeds of as little as one-half mile per hour. However, many of the known fishing lures that are designed to spin in the water do not exhibit significant spin, or “flash”, when pulled at such slow speeds.
While some fishing lures may be effective in attracting fish, they may nonetheless present disadvantages. For example, if a fishing lure creates excessive drag as it is pulled through the water, it may be more difficult for a fisherman to recognize that a fish has bit on the lure. On the other hand, a fishing lure that performs well might fail to succeed commercially if it costs significantly more to manufacture; fishing lure manufacturers and dealers are very competitive, and fisherman demand fishing lures that are reasonably priced.
Often fisherman desire to adjust, or “tweak”, the characteristics of a fishing lure to account for varying circumstances. For example, a fisherman may wish to adjust a lure to increase, or decrease, the rate at which it spins for a given trolling speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,347 to Stirtz describes a fishing flasher including an elongated resilient blade. In one embodiment, the elongated blade is S-shaped, and in a second embodiment, the elongated blate is quarter-moon, or crescent, shaped. A braided wire leader is secured to the eye of a hook, and a series of beads are threaded over the braided-wire leader. The braided-wire leader extends through an aperture formed in the blade. Equal length blade segments extend about opposite sides of a fold line. The fold line is offset from a transverse axis of the blade by an angle of between 5 and 10 degrees. The bent portions of the blade are folded about the fold line to form an angle of between 30-60 degrees. At least some of the blade segment surfaces are reflective to reflect, or “flash”, light downwardly into the water as the blade spins. The blade is formed from planar flexible plastic sheet material, such as 10-15 mil Mylar.
The crescent-shaped blade embodiment disclosed in the Stirtz patent described above has been commercially available since approximately 1997 under the federally-registered trademark “SMILE BLADES” from Mack's Lure, Inc. of Wenatchee, Wash. Crescent-shaped lure blades sold under the federally-registered trademark “SMILE BLADES” have included markings referencing U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,347. While such blades have become popular among fisherman, they still exhibit difficulty in spinning, and “flashing” light, when moved through the water at very low trolling speeds.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fishing lure which is adapted to spin, and “flash” light into the water, even when the fishing lure is trolled at very slow speeds, e.g., one-half mile per hour.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spinning blade for such a fishing lure to provide such benefits.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a fishing lure, and related blade, which avoid excessive drag, for allowing a fisherman to have better “feel” of the fishing line, and to react more quickly when a fish hits the fishing lure.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a fishing lure, and related blade, that can be manufactured relatively easily and inexpensively.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a fishing lure, and related blade, that allows a fisherman to quickly and easily modify the characteristics of the fishing lure to increase, or decrease, the rate at which it spins for a given trolling speed.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.